


"To the savannah and back, Marti"

by MarieITNO98



Category: SKAM (Italy)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Rain, cold spaghetti, muddy pawprints on the floor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2020-01-13 07:47:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18464587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarieITNO98/pseuds/MarieITNO98
Summary: Nico shows up at Marti's door unannounced one rainy night





	"To the savannah and back, Marti"

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there
> 
> A little bit of comfort and fluff.  
> God, I miss Nicotino more than ever...  
> English is not my mother tongue. I apologize for all typos and grammar mistakes.
> 
> Ps: Nico has a dog named Lino.  
> And Martino and Nico were allowed to touch a giraffe at the bioparco a while ago which is named "Marti".

"No, it's elephant, I am sure."  
"Elephant doesn't fit, see."  
"Yes, it does."  
Martino put his finger on the newspaper, tracing it over the crossword puzzle. "Nope, it doesn't."  
His mother threw the pen down. "Then I don't know anymore."  
"Let's think harder, there has to be a solution." Marti said, leaning over the table again, his elbows almost knocking over the plates with some leftover spaghetti.  
"Remember that day when you guessed all words in under 15 minutes?"  
Marti didn't look up, his eyes still on the puzzle, tongue wetting his lips.  
"Your dad was so proud."  
"I don't remember. I don't think I have ever seen him proud of me."  
"That's not true."  
The heavy silence that followed told him she wanted to say more. He squinted his eyes and tapped the newspaper. "Maybe it's zebra."  
"Zebra is too short."  
"What about-."  
The ringing of the doorbell made them both jump. His mother got up, her brows furrowed.  
"I'm going to check real guick."  
Marti focused back on the puzzle. "Large animal in Africa." he murmured, sucking in his cheek between his teeth. "Large animal..."  
"Martino?" his mother's voice interrupted his thoughts.  
Startled by her concerned tone he walked over to the door of their apartment. "Who is it?"  
He stopped dead in his tracks when he turned around the corner.  
Nico was wearing his running shoes and black sweatpants. The fabric of the thin blue rain jacket almost translucent so that he could see the skin underneath the sleeves.  
He was holding a leash in his trembling hands, barely able to keep Lino back who was trying to reach Marti. He was also wet, leaving muddy pawprints on the floor.  
"Hi." Nico said weakly, not even bothering to force a smile.  
Marti couldn't tell if it were raindrops or tears trickling down his pale face.  
"Nico, oh my god, are you okay?"  
He quickly closed the distance between them and wrapped his boyfriend in a tight hug.  
He buried his face in his shoulder and felt Nico do the same.  
Nico smelled like rain, wind and wet dog, mixed with the scent of sweat and cigarettes.  
And something unique, a bit like orange vanilla. It always grounded him, feeling the other boy so close. The familiar scent that didn't leave his sweaters and pj's even after the third time in the washing machine.  
"My room?" he whispered into Nico's jacket, his hands stroking his back reassuringly.  
Nico nodded.  
"Ma, we are gonna go in my room, okay?"  
His mother was still standing in the doorway. Worry written all over her face.  
"Sure, sure. Do you want some coffee or tea, Nico?"  
Nico declined, already halfway to Marti's room. Lino jumped up and down, trying to lick Marti's face. Martino didn't care about the trail of mud and raindrops the dog was leaving.  
He could mop the floor later.  
"Alright." Martino threw a towel and a pair of fuzzy socks on the bed and began searching through his wardrobe, looking for a sweater and sweatpants.  
Nico sat down on the bed. Lino jumped up and put his head in his owners lap.  
Marti watched them out of the corner of his eye. He tried to stop his racing thoughts.  
What could have happened? He was used to Nico showing up unannounced, but never before had he been so distressed.  
"Marti, can you come here?"  
It broke him. The timid voice, the tears flowing out of wide, green eyes. The trembling limbs, dripping wet and his body slumped like a child.  
Marti left the drawers open and went over to the bed to sit down next to him. Nico bit his lower lip, his gaze flicking all over the room.  
His hands were stroking Lino who was now completely still, his big brown eyes seemed sad and concerned. Slowly Nico lowered his head onto Marti's shoulder.  
"I love you."  
Marti's heart skipped a beat at the barely audible words. It always did when he heard them.  
It was a different feeling tonight, though. He didn't think he had ever heard him say them so sincere.  
Nico's fingers left the thick dog fur and clinged to Marti's hands instead.  
Holding on to them as if he didn't want to let go ever again. "I love you, Martino. I love you more than you can even imagine."  
Marti felt his tshirt getting wet by salty tears and he kissed Nico's scalp. "I love you too, Niccolò, to the savannah and back."  
Nico let out a deep breath. His tight grip relaxed a bit.  
When he lifted his head and shifted a bit to sit comfortably, Lino adjusted to the new position, climbing over his legs and lying down on both of them.  
"My parents were being annoying. Nothing serious, just parents being annoying and I needed to get out. I grabbed Lino and went for a run." His eyes were fixed on something far away from Marti's room.A few wet strands of hair were glued to his forehead.  
The freckles in stark contrast to his pale skin.  
"Do you run with Lino? I thought he was like 10 years old"  
"He is, but he survives a little run every once in a while."  
Marti scooted closer and breathed in Nico's familiar scent. He felt the black curls tickle his neck. "Did you come here because of your parents?"  
Nico shook his head and it was silent for a while.  
The sun had already set and the room was only dimly lit by the lamp on the night stand.  
Martino put his fingers over Nico's wrists, feeling the pulse slowing down. He gently rubbed them, trailing kisses down his neck to the collarbone, until Nico's heartbeat was calm and steady again so he could continue talking.  
"You know the park near our school? Where people alledgedly deal drugs or do other stupid stuff."  
"Yeah."  
"Well, I decided to run through it. I had Lino with me, so it was okay."  
Marti smiled a little. He knew how afraid Nico was of dark alleys and parks. He always searched for Marti's hands when it was dark.  
"Turns out it wasn't empty. I met these guys from my Latin class who are not exactly my friends, if you know what I mean. They were probably on their way to beat someone up. I don't know."  
Marti was sure he knew what had happened next. He closed his eyes.  
"What did they say?"  
He felt Nico shift. He was chewing on his lips, avoiding his gaze. "You don't really wanna know."  
"Was is bad?"  
Nico pressed his lips together, turning his head slowly to the left and to the right, tears dwelling in his eyes again. "Yes."  
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."  
"It was the most awful things anyone has ever said to me and about you."  
They fell silent. Listening to each others breathing.  
Eventually, Martino opened his eyes and gently lifted Nico' chin so their foreheads were touching. "We are going to be okay." he said, even though he didn't know if he believed it himself. "We are going to be alright, okay?"  
He kissed him softly. "Okay?"  
Nico nuzzled closer. "Okay."  
He felt Nico's hands on his chest, drawing a circle. This had become his gesture, his touch. His way of showing how much he cared about Marti. It was one of the many ways he told him how much he loved him.  
He exhaled deeply. "It is so exhausting."  
Marti didn't need to ask what he was talking about.  
About restraining himself from giving Nico a kiss on school grounds or holding his hand on the bus. From leaning his head on his shoulder during lunch break. Letting his hands rest on his hips at a party when a good song came on. It was exhausting.  
"Do you want to change into something more comfortable?" Marti asked after a few minutes of silence.  
"Do you have a big, comfortable sweater?"  
"I will find the biggest sweater I have for you."  
"All your sweaters are a few sizes too big for me."  
"Yeah, but the one I'm talking about is huge. You could even put it on "Marti".  
That made Nico smile. The first one tonight.  
"I am not sure the color suits him." he said when Marti showed him the giant dark blue sweater. It had been a gift from his mom many years ago.  
"I won it at one of these booths where you have to shoot ducks with a gun." she explained when her eleven year old son had asked why it was four sizes too big. "It was the only one left. The picture is cute, don't you think?" Marti had just nodded and stuffed it as deep into the drawer as possible.  
"It's a giraffe." Nico exclaimed. "It's a giraffe with a bow."  
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. "Marti" wouldn't look good in it, you're right."  
"Well, I'm gonna put it on."  
He had just said it when the lights went out.  
For a brief second Marti stood completely still. Then he let out a nervous huff:"What is happening?" he whispered in the direction where he assumed Nico was sitting.  
"I have no idea."  
"Why are we whispering?"  
"I don't know."  
"I think the power went out."  
Lino started barking.  
"Hush, Lino."  
"Can you find your phone for a flashlight?"  
He heard Nico ruffle through the sheets. "No."  
"Okay. Let's go in the kitchen and find a flashlight."  
He was able to make out shadows now and could see Nico approach him and felt his fingers intertwine with his own.  
"Come on, Lino."  
They slowly walked out of the room into the hallway.  
"Where is your mom?"  
"I don't know. Its weird that she hasn't said anything yet."  
It was just barely enough light to make out the walls and doors.  
"Maybe it's a burglar."  
"Nico!" Marti said louder than intended.  
"What? Maybe he cut the power."  
"Lino is with us, he will-"  
"AHHHHHHH."  
Marti felt like his bones were being broken, so tight was the grip around his hand.  
Lino started barking aggressively.  
Then he saw it too.  
In the doorframe to the kitchen was a tall figure with big black eyes and sharp teeth. Marti almost screamed as well but then he recognized something about the creature.  
"Mamma?"  
The creature put down its arms. "How did you know?"  
"Mamma! What are you doing?"  
His mom turned on the flaslight. She was laughing. Something she had been doing more regularly than before but it warmed Marti's heart every time.  
He squinted his eyes at the bright light and gave Nico a light punch in the rips, "You can relax, it's just a mask."  
Nico was looking away, clearly embarrassed.  
"I am sorry, if I scared you. I couldn't resist when I heard you sneaking around." Marti's mom was still laughing. The ugly halloween mask in her hands and the flashlight in the other.  
"Is the power out?"  
"Yes. You know how it is."  
Marti nodded. He remembered the dark nights when his dad was still here and they had all cuddled on the couch and read fairytales with a flashlight. Later it had just been his mom and him.  
He wouldn't be able to count the times the power went out in this building.  
His mom turned to Nico. "How are you feeling, Niccolò?"  
"Better."  
"Do you wanna help us solve the crossword puzzle? We can light some candles and eat cold spaghetti for a second dinner."  
"Why not? I will just put on dry clothes first."  
"Don't tell him you won the mask at the same market where you got the giraffe sweater." Marti said to her when they were alone.  
"You gave him that ugly sweater?"  
"He wanted the most comfortable one. "He pointed at the mask in her hands. "Where did you find this ugly thing."  
"I found it in one of the drawers when I was looking for the flashlight. I think your Dad wore it once, many years ago at a halloween party at school."  
She laughed quietly. For a second they were looking at each other. Her eyes fond and a bit sad. Then she cleared her throat and went into the kitchen to get some more spaghetti from the pot.  
Nico came out a few minutes later. Dressed in the blue sweater and grey pants. The sleeves were too long and the seam almost reached his knees. It was incredibly endearing.  
Marti reached out and brushed the curls out of Nico's eyes. "You look cute."  
The dim candle lights couldn't hide Nico's blush.  
Marti looked into his sparkling eyes, full of the little stars he had missed all night.  
"Are you okay?" he asked, pulling him towards him, down in his lap.  
Nico nodded. "I am with you. You make me feel good." Martino kissed him.  
It wasn't a graceful kiss, but he couldn't fight the urge. He cupped Nico's face. "I love you, Niccolò. To the savannah and back."  
Nico hummed softly, pulling Marti closer. "To the savannah and back." he repeated quietly, his lips sucking on the spot behind Marti's ear that made him shiver and weak in the knees.  
"Here you go."  
They both flinched when his mom came back in, placing a plate of spaghetti in front of Nico. "We have ice cream in the freezer for dessert, if it hasn't melted yet, but I think the power will be back soon. Like always"  
Nico smiled and got up to sit down in a chair. He glanced at the crossword puzzle on the table. "Where are you at?"  
"We stopped at large animal in Africa."  
"You haven't figured it out?" he asked incredulously.  
"It's not Elephant or Zebra."  
"Can I have the pen?"  
"Sure."  
Nico leaned over and carefully wrote the word in the small boxes.  
He gave Marti a fond smile, one that was only meant for him.  
"To the savannah and back, Marti."

 

G i r a f f e

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it.
> 
> Crosswords and quality family time are my jam ( plus spaghetti)  
> I also adore Mama Rametta. ( I miss her terribly ;-( )
> 
> Comments and kudos are appreciated <33
> 
> Happy Sunday everyone!


End file.
